[Levofloxacin-based triple therapy for first-line Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment: a multi-central, randomized, controlled clinical study].

Objective: To compare efficacy and tolerability of 7-day standard triple therapy versus 7-day levofloxacin-based triple therapy in first-line treatment for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.

Methods: Three hundred consecutive H.

Endoscopic removal of an accidentally swallowed toothbrush.

A rare case is reported with a large foreign body in the upper gastrointestinal tract. A 19-year-old girl accidentally swallowed her toothbrush which was successfully removed via endoscopy using a polypectomy snare under topical pharyngeal anesthesia. The extracted toothbrush was 20 cm long, and it had the characteristic radiographic image.

Ascorbic acid alleviates pancreatic damage induced by dibutyltin dichloride (DBTC) in rats.

Purpose: Because previous studies have reported depleted antioxidant capacity in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), prevention of free radical production has gained importance in antifibrotic treatment strategies for CP. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ascorbic acid on oxidative capacity and pancreatic damage in experimental CP.

Materials And Methods: CP was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by infusion of dibutyltin dichloride (DBTC) into the tail vein.

Plasma level of thrombomodulin is an early indication of pancreatic necrosis in patients with acute pancreatitis.

Background: The potential to predict pancreatic necrosis within the first 48 h by using plasma soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) in 104 patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) was analyzed in a prospective 5-year investigation performed at a single institution.

Methods: According to Balthazar CT grade, pancreatitis was classified as no necrosis in 72 patients, one-third necrotic in 18 patients, one-half necrotic in 10 patients and more than one-half necrotic in 4 patients. Blood was collected at the first 48 hours after the onset of pain and analyzed for sTM.

Effect of emodin on pancreatic fibrosis in rats.

Aim: To establish the rats model of chronic fibrosing pancreatitis and to prove the anti-fibrotic effect of emodin in chronic pancreatitis with fibrosis.

Methods: Fifty rats were randomly divided into five groups, 10 rats in each group. Trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) was infused into the pancreatic duct to induce chronic pancreatitis in rats (except for normal group).

[Effect of emodin on pancreatic fibrosis: experiment with rats].

Objective: To study the effect of emodin on pancreatic fibrosis and potential mechanism thereof.

Methods: Fifty SD rats were randomly divided into 5 equal groups: normal control group, model control group, low-dose emodin-treated group, mediate-dose emodin-treated group, and high-dose emodin-treated group. The rats of the latter 4 groups underwent infusion of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) into the pancreatic duct so as to establish models of pancreatic fibrosis.

[Clinical analysis of 39 cases of heterotopic gastric mucosa in the upper esophagus].

Objective: To determine accurately the incidence of heterotopic gastric mucosa in the upper esophagus (HGMUE) in China, and to study the macroscopic and microscopic aspects of the lesions and to evaluate the clinical importance of HGMUE.

Methods: A prospective study was made among a total of 15,228 consecutive patients, 8,573 male and 6,655 female, aged 54 (8-95), undergoing gastroscopy. Disease histories of all patients were carefully inquired, especially those regarding possible complaints including discomfort of throat and swallowing pain and so on.

Characterization of CagA variable region of Helicobacter pylori isolates from Chinese patients.

Aim: To characterize the CagA variable region of Helicobacter pylori isolates from Chinese patients.

Methods: DNA fragments in CagA variable region were amplified and sequenced respectively from genomic DNA of 19 isolates from patients with gastric cancer and 20 isolates from patients with chronic gastritis. The tendency of phosphorylation in tyrosine(s) of CagA proteins was evaluated subsequently by phosphorylation assay in vivo and in vitro respectively.

Biological activity of the virulence factor cagA of Helicobacter pylori.

Background: China is one of the countries with the highest incidence of H. pylori and more than 9090 isolates possessed the cagA gene. This study was to evaluate the biological activity of the H.

Significance of vascular endothelial growth factor expression and its correlation with inducible nitric oxide synthase in gastric cancer.

Aim: To investigate the clinical significance of the expression of VEGF165mRNA and the correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNO) in human gastric cancer.

Methods: We tested VEGF165mRNA expression in 31 cases of resected gastric cancer specimens and normal paired gastric mucosae by RT-PCR. Total RNA was extracted with TRIzol reagents, transcribed into cDNA with oligo (dT15) priming, inner controlled with beta-actin expression and agarose gel isolated after PCR.

[Plasma levels of ascorbic acid and vitamin E in patients with liver cirrhosis].

Objective: To investigate the plasma levels of ascorbic acid and vitamin E in patients with liver cirrhosis and to explore their significance.

Methods: The plasma levels of ascorbic acid,vitamin E and lipoperoxides in patients with liver cirrhosis were measured, and the results were compared with those of sex-and age-matched healthy subjects.

Result: The plasma levels of ascorbic acid, vitamin E and lipoperoxides in the patients group were (42.

Distribution of H.pylori antigens in gastric mucosa and its significance.

Objective: To investigate the distribution of H.pylori antigens in the gastric mucosa in patients with H.pylori infection, and the relationship between the distribution and gastric cancer.

[Effect of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor celebrex on expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in pancreatic carcinoma].

Background & Objective: The previous study has identified that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) may have a close relation with tumor genesis, particularly with digestive tract tumors, and its inhibitor can exert the chemoprevention role on carcinogenesis. This study was designed to investigate the effect of celebrex, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in pancreatic carcinoma of xenografted nude mice induced by pancreatic carcinoma PC-3 cell lines.

Methods: The effect of celebrex on tumor growth was observed.

Detection of H.pylori DNA in gastric epithelial cells by in situ hybridization.

Aim: To investigate the presence of H.pylori DNA within gastric epithelial cells in patients with H.pylori infection and its possible carcinogenic mechanism.